Agricultural bale pick-up means

ABSTRACT

Bale pick-up means comprising a frame, bale elevator means mounted on the frame and operable to lift a bale from the ground, and bale holding means operable constantly to engage a bale being elevated and to hold the bale in contact with the elevator means. The bale holding means comprises a planar bale shoe or plate suspended from the frame by first link means, second link means and third link means, the first and second link means being capable of operating as a parallelogram linkage and the line of action of the third link means, when operable, crossing the line of action of the first link means.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to agricultural bale pick-up meanswhich are employed in bale wagons, and more particularly, but notexclusively, to automatic bale wagons, which pick up bales from theground, load the bales onto one or more load beds or floors in apredetermined manner, and unload the bales, also in a predeterminedmanner, without any manual assistance save for the operator's drivingthe wagon (be it of the self-propelled or towed type) and operating thecontrols.

In contrast to the automatic bale wagon, there exists the random balewagon which has the advantage of simplicity, since all that is requiredis a load space and a mechanism to pick up bales from the ground andconvey or throw them into the load space.

There is, of course, a need for bale pick-up means, whether employed inan automatic bale wagon, a random bale wagon or other agriculturalequipment, to operate efficiently in picking up bales from the ground. Asignificant factor in this operation is the contact between the pick-upmeans and a bale being picked up. In typical bale pick-up means there isprovided an elevator, often of the endless chain type, operable toengage a bale end and to elevate that bale to a position in which thelongitudinal axis of the bale is generally vertical. The bale is thendelivered either to another component of the pick-up means or to thebale wagon, for example, with which it may be employed. Since contactwith the bale is normally as a result of the pick-up means beingmaneuvered towards the bale which is stationary in a field, initialcontact is often adequate but once the bale has been lifted clear of theground, or the area of contact between the bale and the ground reducedby a significant amount, it is very desirable to positively urge a baleinto contact with the elevator.

In the bale pick-up means or loader of U.S. Pat. No. 3,572,527, this isachieved by the use of a bale shoe or holder which is a planar memberpivotally suspended from a frame of the pick-up means for movement abouta single axis extending transversely of the associated elevator. Such ashoe functions reasonably well but has been found lacking for two mainreasons: firstly the distance between the single pivot axis and theelevator is fixed, and secondly, there is a tendency for the shoe topivot when there is a bump or indentation in a bale's surface with theresult that the area of contact between the shoe and bale is muchreduced. As regards the fixed distance between the shoe pivot axis andthe elevator, problems can arise due to the fairly frequent variationsin bale size. Oversize bales tend to jam between the shoe and elevatorand undersize bales lose contact with at least a major portion of theshoe, thereby reducing its effectiveness and causing some hesitancy inthe pick up of a bale. The foregoing problems are solved in the designof the apparatus comprising the present invention by providing balepick-up means comprising a frame, bale elevator means mounted on theframe operable to lift a bale from the ground and bale holding meanseffective to constantly engage a bale being elevated and to hold thebale in contact with the elevator means.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide bale pick-up meanshaving a bale shoe or bale holding means which provides good contactbetween bale and elevator in at least the majority of circumstances.

It is an advantage of the present invention that there is provided in abale pick-up means bale elevator means operable to lift a bale from theground and via bale holding means to constantly engage a bale beingelevated during the lifting process and to hold the bale in contact withthe elevator means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects and advantages will become apparent upon consideration ofthe following detailed disclosure of the invention, especially when itis taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of the bale wagon with certaincomponents removed for clarity,

FIG. 2 is a partial front view showing the lower portion of the balewagon with components in an operative position,

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing certain components in aninoperative or transport position, and to a larger scale,

FIG. 4 is a partial plan view of FIG. 2,

FIG. 5 is a view in the direction of arrow V of FIG. 2,

FIG. 6 is a section on the line VI--VI of FIG. 2, and

FIGS. 7 to 9 are diagrammatic views of the lower portion of FIG. 5showing certain components in different operative positions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to the drawings, particularly FIG. 1, the bale wagon isof the pull type and comprises a chassis 1 formed from twolongitudinally-extending members 2 which converge at the front of thewagon to form a conventional hitch 3. Attached beneath the chassis 1 isa wheel assembly comprising two pairs of ground-engaging wheels 4 and 5.Carried on top of, and attached to, the chassis 1 is a main frame 6 forthe wagon comprising three pairs of main upright beams 7 interconnectedby three transverse beams 8. The frame is extended rearwardly by twolongitudinally-extending side members 9 attached at one end to therearwardmost transverse beam 8 and interconnected at the other end by afurther transverse beam 11. A further pair of upright beams 12 isprovided, together with stabilizing cross struts 13 interconnecting thebeams 12 with the associated rearwardmost beams 7, additional crossstruts 13 being provided between the front two pairs of upright beams 7.

Each pair of upright beams 7 and 12 is interconnected at spacedintervals above the chassis by three transoms 14, 15, 16, each set oftransoms forming the basis of a load floor with another load floor beingformed by the transverse beams 8. Thus, first, second, third and fourthload floors 17, 18, 19 and 21, respectively, are provided in the balewagon, each floor having a base comprising a plurality of slats 22spaced apart transversely of the wagon. The slats are made from sheetmetal and have an inverted U shape with side flanges by which they arebolted or otherwise secured to the transverse beams 8 and 11 or transoms14, 15 and 16, as appropriate.

The bale wagon further generally comprises bale pick-up means 23 mountedon the chassis 1 at the front, and to one side of the wagon, balesupport means 24 provided at the rear ends of the second and fourth loadfloors 18 and 21, bale elevator means 25 provided at the front end ofthe second load floor 18 and operable between the second and third loadfloors 18 and 19, and bale unloading means 26 disposed at the front endof the fourth load floor 21. The general operation of the bale wagon issuch that bales 30 are picked up from the ground by the pick-up means 23and moved step by step in end-to-end pairs first rearwardly of the wagonalong the length of the first load floor 17, then transferred from thefirst load floor to the second load floor 18 with the aid of theassociated bale support means 24 and conveyed the length thereofforwardly of the bale wagon to the elevator means 25, raised by thelatter to the third load floor 19, conveyed rearwardly of the wagonalong the length of the third load floor 19, transferred to the fourthload floor 21 with the aid of the associated bale support means 24, andfinally conveyed forwardly of the wagon along the length of the fourthload floor 21 to the unloading means 26. It will be seen that the balesmove in alternate directions in traversing the four load floors 17, 18,19 and 21.

The bales are moved in the bale wagon by intermittently driven conveyormeans in the form of chain conveyors 27 and 28 respectively provided onthe second and fourth load floors 18 and 21 only and disposed centrallythereof. The chain of each conveyor 27 and 28 supports at equispacedintervals bale pushers 31 which are seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the size ofthe intervals depending on the size of bale being handled. Each balepusher 31 engages two bales 30 positioned end-to-end across the wagon,the pusher engaging each of the two bales over approximately two thirdsof its length as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3.

As already mentioned, the pick-up means 23 is mounted at the front, andto one side, of the bale wagon and it is movable between an operative(FIG. 2) and an inoperative (FIG. 3) position transversely of the balewagon, whereby at least part of the pick-up means is contained, in theinoperative position, within the width of the wagon so as to reduce theoverall width of the latter for transport purposes.

The pick-up means 23 comprises a subframe 32 mounted on the chassis 1across the two members 2 thereof at the location where they converge atthe front of the wagon. The subframe 32 comprises two parallel sidemembers 33 extending transversely of the wagon and interconnected at oneend by an end member 34, the members 33 and 34 being formed from squaresection tubing and the two side members being displaced verticallyrelative to each other. Slide and guide channels 35 and 36 are providedon the respective inwardly facing sides of the two side members 33 anduprights 37 extend from respective ends of the end member 34, beinginterconnected by a further end member 38. The subframe 32 supports acarriage 39 for sliding movement in the slide channels 35 and 36 by wayof two rear rollers 41 associated with the channel 35 and a front roller42 associated with the channel 36. The rollers 41 and 42 are carried atthe ends of respective support members 43 and 44 extending from theframe of the carriage comprising lower front and rear members 45 and 46interconnected by two forwardly converging members 47. The carriageframe further comprises two rear, upwardly extending and convergingmembers 48 connected between the lower rear member 46 and an upper rearmember 49, and one front upwardly extending member 51 connected betweenthe lower front member 45 and an upper front member 53. The upper frontand rear members 53 and 49 extend transversely of the wagon parallel toeach other.

As regards bale pick-up components, the pick-up means 23 comprise anendless elevator 52 mounted in a subframe 54, an inclined, endless chainconveyor 55, and an endless chain, generally horizontal conveyor 56mounted on the carriage 39, the inclined conveyor being disposed betweenthe elevator and the horizontal conveyor. The elevator 52 comprises anendless chain 57 having bale conveyor members 58 attached thereto atequispaced intervals, the chain extending around a driven sprocket 59and an idler sprocket 61. The driven sprocket 59 is attached to a shaft62 driven by a hydraulic motor 63. It will be seen from FIGS. 2 and 5that the line of action of the elevator 52, as defined by the forwardand operative run of the chain 57, is inclined rearwardly of the wagonby an angle of 10 degrees and upwardly inclined towards the inclinedconveyor 55 by an angle of 15 degrees, the former inclination helping tomaintain a bale being elevated in contact with the elevator, and thelatter inclination imparting a partial turn to a bale being elevated inreadiness for transfer to the inclined conveyor 55. A resilient baleguide and deflector 64 is mounted on the frame 54, together with guidemembers 65 disposed on either side of the frame and operable to guidebales approached by the pick-up means 23 towards the elevator 52 as thebale wagon is driven over a field in which the bales are dispersed.

In order for the elevator 52 to operate efficiently, it is necessary toprovide bale holding means 66 (seen in FIGS. 5 and 7-9 but not shown inFIGS. 2 and 3) constantly to urge a bale into contact with the elevatorthroughout the elevating process. The bale holding means 66 are mountedon the frame 54 and comprise a planar shoe in the form of a relativelyheavy metal plate 67 contactable with the top face of a bale enteringthe pick-up means 23 and having side flanges 68 and a curved heelportion 69. The plate 67 is pivotally suspended from the frame 54 bythree links: firstly by a rigid link 71 pivotally attached at one end toa bracket 72 on the plate and at the other end to a bracket 73 on theframe 54; secondly a link in the form of a chain 75 having a lengthequal to that of the rigid link 71 and pivotally attached at one end tothe bracket 73 below the point of attachment of the rigid link theretoand pivotally attached at the other end to the bracket 72; thirdly alink also in the form of a chain 74 pivotally attached at respectiveends to the brackets 72 and 73, the point of attachment to the bracket73 being above that of the rigid link 71 and the point of attachment tothe bracket 72 being coincident with that of the other chain link 75.The chain links 74 and 75 are operative or inoperative according to theorientation of the plate 67 relative to the frame 54 but when operative,the link 75 forms a parallelogram with the rigid link 71, and the lineof action of the link 74 crosses that of the rigid link. A spring 76also interconnects the brackets 72 and 73.

In the rest position of the bale holding means as seen in FIG. 7, theplate 67 is generally horizontal, that is generally perpendicular to theplane of action of the operative run of the elevator chain 57, ignoringthe rearward inclination thereof. The height from the ground of theplate 67 in the rest position is substantially equal to height of a bale30. The third link 74 is taut in the rest position of the bale holdingmeans so that, in conjunction with the rigid link 71 and a stop 70 onsaid bale holding means and engaging said rigid link, it holds the plate67 in the required position. The elevator 52 engages the end of a balefed thereto by movement of the bale wagon relative to the bale, liftsthat end and then engages the face of the bale previously contactingground so that the bale is then in the position shown in FIG. 8.

The plate 67 pivots about its pivotal connection with the rigid link 71as the end of the bale is lifted and is raised at the same time due tothe provision of the third link 74 crossing the first link 73 thismovement being accommodated by the pivotal connection between the rigidlink and the bracket 73 on the frame 54. This re-orientation of theplate 67 results in the chain link 75 becoming taut, and henceeffective, to form the parallelogram with the rigid link 71 andwhereafter the chain link 74 becomes slack and hence ineffective. Itwill be seen from FIG. 8 that the plate 67 is parallel to the operativerun of the elevator chain 57 and the parallelogram formed by the links71 and 75 will maintain this orientation irrespective of any variationin the thickness of the bale so that the bale is positively urged intocontact with the elevator 52 by the weight of the plate 67 and theassociated components and by the spring 76.

As the bale is further elevated by the elevator 52, it falls towards theinclined conveyor 55 and is eventually totally transferred to the same.As this transition takes place, the area of contact between the plate 67and the bale gradually reduces with the result that the plate dropsdownwardly about the pivotal connection between the rigid link 71 andthe bracket 73 and the chain link 74 again becomes taut and causes theplate 67 to tilt anticlockwise about the pivotal connection between therigid link and the bracket 72 whereupon the chain link 75 again becomesslack. The chain link 74 causes the plate 67 to continue theanticlockwise tilting to ensure contact of the latter with the baleuntil the last possible moment. The illustrated bale holding means 66are very effective in holding a bale against the elevator 52 throughoutthe action of the latter thereon which thus improves the action of theelevator in making it more positive so that there is little or nohesitancy in the picking up of bales.

The inclined conveyor 55 comprises a chain 80 extending around spacedsprockets 77 and 78 mounted on respective shafts 79 and 81, the formershaft being supported on the subframe 54 and driven by the hydraulicmotor 63 through a bevel gear arrangement 82 between the shafts 79 and62. The shaft 81 is supported between two side members 83 of theinclined conveyor 55, the side members being rigidly connected to oneend of links 84 the other ends of which are pivotally attached to thecarriage frame about a shaft 85 associated with the horizontal conveyor56. The subframe 54 is pivotally attached to the inclined conveyor 55about the shaft 79 and pivotally attached to one end of a strut 86 theother end of which is pivotally connected to a bracket 87 extending fromthe carriage frame. Thus the elevator 52 is suspended from the carriageframe by a parallelogram arrangement comprising the strut 86 on the onehand and the combined side members 83 and links 84 on the other hand,whereby the orientation of the elevator remains the same relative to theground irrespective of the position of the inclined conveyor 55 relativeto the horizontal conveyor 56, which position changes according towhether the pick-up means 23 is in the operative or inoperativeposition, as will be explained. Pivotal movement of the inclinedconveyor 55 relative to the horizontal conveyor 56 is effected by ahydraulic cylinder 88 connected between the inclined conveyor and thecarriage frame. The chain 80 carries relatively aggressive bale engagingand conveying members 89 at spaced intervals therealong.

The front and rear of the inclined conveyor 55 are each fitted with abale guide and retainer rail 91, pivotally attached at spaced points totwo arms 92 in turn pivotally mounted on the respective shafts 79 and81, the four pivot points defining the corners of a parallelogram. Theright hand arm 92 as seen in FIG. 3 is extended downwardly and ispivotally attached to one end of a link 93 the other end of which ispivotally attached to the carriage frame. Thus as the inclined conveyor55 is pivoted upwardly relative to the horizontal conveyor 56, the link93 pulls on the extension of the right hand arm 92 partially to collapseor fold the rail 91 so that it will not foul other components when thepick-up means 23 is moved to the transport position of FIG. 3.

Turning now to the horizontal conveyor 56, this comprises a chain 94carrying bale engaging and conveying members 95 which are lessaggressive than those of the inclined conveyor 55 and are in the form ofL-shaped members extending transversely of the chain such that adequatebale conveyance is effected thereby without any interference in thesubsequent transfer of the bales to the first load floor 17. The chainextends around sprockets 96 and 97, the sprocket 96 being attached tothe shaft 85 and the sprocket 97 to a shaft 98 supported on the carriageframe between the members 49 and 53 thereof. The horizontal conveyor 56is driven by the hydraulic motor 63 from the inclined conveyor shaft 81which carries a sprocket 99 (FIGS. 3, 4 and 5) drivingly connected to asprocket 101 on the shaft 85 by a chain 102. The hydraulic motor 63 iscontrolled by the valve (not shown) which also controls hydraulic motorsassociated with the bale unloading means 26, the valve being such thatif the motor 63 is energized, the bale unloading motors are de-energizedand vice versa. Furthermore, the motor 63 is de-energized when theconveyors 27 and 28 are driven so that the drive to the elevator 52,inclined conveyor 55 and horizontal conveyor 56 is interrupted whenbales are being transferred from the transfer table to the first loadfloor 17 or otherwise moved through the bale wagon.

The shaft 81 also carries a pulley 103 and a further pulley 104 isprovided on a shaft 105 supported in brackets extending from therespective members 45 and 51 of the carriage frame and disposed to oneside and below the shaft 81. A belt 106 extends around the pulleys 103and 104. Two capstans 107 (FIGS. 4 and 6) are mounted on the shaft 105each having a rope or cable 108 therearound to form two capstanclutches, the rope of one capstan being wound oppositely to that of theother capstan. One end of each rope 108 is attached to the subframe 32at 109 and the other end attached to a pivotal control member 111 (FIG.4) movement of which by the bale wagon operator tensions one or other ofthe ropes 108 which then clutches the associated capstan 107 whereuponthe carriage, and hence entire pick-up means 23, is moved in onedirection or another, as required, along the guide channels 35 and 36.This movement can only occur when the inclined conveyor 55 has beenpivoted to a horizontal position by actuation of the cylinder 88 in linewith the horizontal conveyor 56 as seen in FIG. 3 because it is only inthis position that the drive belt 106 is tensioned between the pulleys103 to 104 to impart drive to the shaft 105 and capstans 107. In theoperative position of the pick-up means shown in FIG. 2, the pulleys 103and 104 are positioned closer together so that the belt 106 is slack andthe drive to the shaft 105 and capstans 107 interrupted. The carriage islockable in the operative and inoperative position of the pick-up means23 by a locking device comprising a pair of stops 112 attached to thecarriage and engageable with one or other of two latches 113 carried bya shaft 114 according to whether the pick-up means is in the operativeor inoperative position. The shaft 114 is rotatable by a linkage system115 connected to the control member 111 so that the latches are eitherin the operative position shown in full lines in FIG. 6 or one of twoinoperative positions shown in broken lines.

The horizontal conveyor 56 forms part of a transfer table extending thewidth of the first load floor 17 and further comprising a floor portion116 extending from, and hingedly attached to, the frame 32 and slightlyoverlapping an inclined member 117 of the horizontal conveyor 56. Thefloor portion 116 extends downwardly towards the horizontal conveyor 56so that as the latter moves from the operative to the inoperativeposition of the pick-up means the floor portion is hinged upwardly toallow the carriage to move thereunder to the position of FIG. 3. It willbe noted that the dimensions of the horizontal conveyor 56 and the floorportion 116 transversely of the bale wagon are such that a first baleloaded on to the transfer table by the pick-up means 23 sits on the lefthand end of the floor portion 116 as seen in broken lines in FIG. 2. Asa second bale is picked up and is eventually conveyed by the horizontalconveyor 56, it pushes the first loaded bale further along the floorportion 116 until it contacts a bale presence sensor 118 to initiate adrive step of the conveyors 27 and 28, whereupon the next available balepusher 31 of the conveyor 27 sweeps down from the second load floor 18and engages the bales on the transfer table and moves them onto thefirst load floor 17.

The general operation of the illustrated bale wagon has already beendescribed in brief and will now be elaborated a little. Assuming thebale wagon to be empty, it is towed over a field in which bales of cropmaterial are dispersed and steered towards bales in turn in such a waythat each bale enters the pick-up guides 65 and on to the pick-upelevator 52. The first bale is elevated by the elevator 52, passed tothe inclined conveyor 55 and thence to the horizontal conveyor 56 whichtransfers the bale to the adjacent end of the floor portion 116 of thetransfer table. In this position, the first bale is out of engagementwith the sensor 118 but engages the same on being pushed further ontothe floor portion 116 by the next bale which is picked up from theground. This initiates a drive step for the conveyors 27 and 28 with theresult that the first pair of bales is transferred to the first loadfloor 17.

The subsequent movement of the bales through the bale wagon isdescribed, and details of other components of the wagon given, inco-pending Patent Application Ser. No. . Also, other aspects of theillustrated embodiment are described and claimed in co-pending PatentApplications, Serial Nos. and .

When the bale wagon is to be transported on public highways, the overallwidth has to be reduced, assuming the effective width as regards balecapacity is maximized, and this is achieved in the illustratedembodiment by energizing the cylinder 88 to pivot the inclined conveyor55 to a position in alignment with the horizontal conveyor 56 and thensliding the entire pick-up means 23 transversely of the wagon byoperating the control 111 and hence energizing the appropriate capstanclutch 107, 108. The transfer table needs to be clear of bales for thisoperation. FIG. 3 shows that the pick-up means 23 is stowed within thewidth of the load floors when in the fully retracted, inoperative ortransport position.

FIG. 1 of the drawings shows that the transfer table is located beneaththe front end of the second load floor 18 which means that bales have tobe delivered to the table in a relatively confined space. This is noproblem with the use of the two conveyors 55 and 56 as the latter feedsthe bales horizontally whereby the minimum of headroom is required.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:
 1. Bale pick-upmeans for a bale of crop material having at least one face, thecombination comprising:(a) a mobile frame; (b) bale elevator meansmounted along a predetermined plane on the frame and operable to lift abale from the ground on being engaged thereby; (c) bale holding meansoperable constantly to engage a bale being elevated during the liftingprocess and to hold the bale in contact with the elevator means, thebale holding means further comprising a generally planar member forcontact with at least one face of the bale being elevated and beingmovable between a rest position and raised position generally parallelto the plane of the elevator means in response to a bale engaging theelevator means; (d) first rigid link means having a first end and anopposing second end pivotally attached at the first end to the frame andpivotally attached at the second end to the planar member; (e) secondlink means equal in length to the first link means having a first endand an opposing second end pivotally attached at the first end to theframe below the pivotal attachment of the first link means to the frameand pivotally attached at the opposing second end to the planar member,the second link means being selectively operative according to theorientation of the planar member relative to the frame and arranged sothat when operative it is parallel to the first link means; (f) stopmeans mounted to the frame between the first link means and the planarmember; and(g) third link means having a first end and an opposingsecond end pivotally attached at the first end to the frame and at thesecond end to the planar member, the third link means being selectivelyoperative according to the orientation of the planar member relative tothe frame and arranged so that when operative the line of action of thethird link crosses the line of action of the first link means such thatwhen the planar member is in the rest position the second link isinoperative and the third link means is operative with the stop means tohold the planar member generally perpendicular to the plane of theelevator means, so that the first and second link means form aparallelogram that permits the planar member to move parallel to theelevator means to allow any variation in the thickness of the bale to behandled while the third link is inoperative and when the third linkbecomes operative as the planar member drops when the elevated baleleaves the elevator means the third link ensures that at least a portionof the planar member pivots towards the bale to maintain contact betweenthe bale and the planar member and the bale and the elevator means untilthe bale is clear of the bale holding means.
 2. Bale pick-up meansaccording to claim 1, wherein the second and third link means are eachin the form of a chain.
 3. Bale pick-up means according to claim 1,wherein the second and third link means are each in the form of a rigidmember having a lost motion connection at one of its pivot points.
 4. Abale wagon according to claim 3, wherein the planar member has a heelportion inclined to the plane of the planar member.
 5. Bale pick-upmeans according to claim 4, wherein the line of action of the elevatormeans is generally upright but inclined to the vertical to assist theturning of an elevated bale upon delivery from the elevator means.
 6. Abale wagon according to claim 5, wherein the inclination to the verticalof the line of action of the elevator means is 15 degrees.
 7. A balewagon according to claim 6, wherein the line of action of the elevatormeans is also inclined upwardly and away from a bale to be engaged bythe elevator means.